The sodium tail of the Moon

During the few days centered about new Moon, the lunar surface is optically hidden from Earth-based observers. However, the Moon still offers an observable: an extended sodium tail. The lunar sodium tail is the escaping “hot” component of a coma-like exosphere of sodium generated by photon-stimulated desorption, solar wind sputtering and meteoroid impact. Neutral sodium atoms escaping lunar gravity experience solar radiation pressure that drives them into the anti-solar direction forming a comet-like tail. During new Moon time, the geometry of the Sun, Moon and Earth is such that the anti-sunward sodium flux is perturbed by the terrestrial gravitational field resulting in its focusing into a dense core that extends beyond the Earth. An all-sky camera situated at the El Leoncito Observatory (CASLEO) in Argentina has been successfully imaging this tail through a sodium filter at each lunation since April 2006. This paper reports on the results of the brightness of the lunar sodium tail spanning 31 lunations between April 2006 and September 2008. Brightness variability trends are compared with both sporadic and shower meteor activity, solar wind proton energy flux and solar near ultra violet (NUV) patterns for possible correlations. Results suggest minimal variability in the brightness of the observed lunar sodium tail, generally uncorrelated with any single source, yet consistent with a multi-year period of minimal solar activity and non-intense meteoric fluxes.     

Plasma environment of Jupiter family comets

As any comet nears the Sun, gas sublimes from the nucleus taking dust with it. Jupiter family comets are no exception. The neutral gas becomes ionized, and the interaction of a comet with the solar wind starts with ion pickup. This key process is also important in other solar system contexts wherever neutral particles become ionized and injected into a flowing plasma such as at Mars, Venus, Io, Titan and interstellar neutrals in the solar wind. At comets, ion pickup removes momentum and energy from the solar wind and puts it into cometary particles, which are then thermalised via plasma waves. Here we review what comets have shown us about how this process operates, and briefly look at how this can be applied in other contexts. We review the processes of pitch angle and energy scattering of the pickup ions, and the boundaries and regions in the comet-solar wind interaction. We use in-situ measurements from the four comets visited to date by spacecraft carrying plasma instrumentation: 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, 1P/Halley, 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup and 19P/Borrelly, to illustrate the process in action. While, of these, comet Halley is not a Jupiter class comet, it has told us the most about cometary plasma environments. The other comets, which are from the Jupiter family, give an interesting comparison as they have lower gas production rates and less-developed interactions. We examine the prospects for Rosetta at comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, another Jupiter family comet where a wide range of gas production rates will be studied.     

Multispacecraft Observations of Magnetic Clouds and Their Solar Origins between 19 and 23 May 2007

We analyze a series of complex interplanetary events and their solar origins that occurred between 19 and 23 May 2007 using observations by the STEREO and Wind satellites. The analyses demonstrate the new opportunities offered by the STEREO multispacecraft configuration for diagnosing the structure of in situ events and relating them to their solar sources. The investigated period was characterized by two high-speed solar wind streams and magnetic clouds observed in the vicinity of the sector boundary. The observing satellites were separated by a longitudinal distance comparable to the typical radial extent of magnetic clouds at 1 AU (fraction of an AU), and, indeed, clear differences were evident in the records from these spacecraft. Two partial-halo coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were launched from the same active region less than a day apart, the first on 19 May and the second on 20 May 2007. The clear signatures of the magnetic cloud associated with the first CME were observed by STEREO B and Wind while only STEREO A recorded clear signatures of the magnetic cloud associated with the latter CME. Both magnetic clouds appeared to have interacted strongly with the ambient solar wind and the data showed evidence that they were a part of the coronal streamer belt. Wind and STEREO B also recorded a shocklike disturbance propagating inside a magnetic cloud that compressed the field and plasma at the cloud’s trailing portion. The results illustrate how distant multisatellite observations can reveal the complex structure of the extension of the coronal streamer into interplanetary space even during the solar activity minimum. Electronic Supplementary Material  The online version of this article () contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Solar Wind Effects Associated with a Recurrent,High-Latitude Coronal Brightness Enhancement

During the descent of Ulysses following the 2001 solar north pole passage, the SOHO LASCO C2 telescope recorded a particularly strong sequence of recurrent polarization brightness (pB) features at latitudes of around 55°. As Ulysses passed overhead, solar rotation swept the interplanetary extensions of these persistent coronal structures over the spacecraft. Comparison of solar remote sensing and Ulysses in situ observations through 2002 reveals the solar wind effects of very bright and recurrent K-coronal structures at high solar latitudes and of a steeply inclined heliospheric neutral sheet (HNS). Despite the high level of solar activity, the HNS at high latitude still organizes solar wind stream structure much as it did near the previous solar minimum. The recurrent coronal streamers originate slow solar wind and mark the northern extremity of a very tilted HNS whose passage at Ulysses is accompanied by slow, dense solar wind, enhanced temperature, depressed α abundance, enhanced magnetic fields, and magnetic field directional changes that evolve with spacecraft latitude.     

Trace elements in world steam coal and their behaviour in Dutch coal-fired power stations: A review

Trace elements associated with the combustion of coal have received more attention recently, as can be seen from the increasing demands laid down in legislation and permits.Knowledge of the trace element content of coal is essential. Coal used in the Netherlands is imported from all over the world. As a consequence, Dutch power stations are designed to burn a wide range of bituminous coals. The largest share nowadays originates from South Africa, Colombia, and Indonesia, with these three countries accounting for more than 85% of the coal fired in the Netherlands in recent years. The coals, as imported in the Netherlands, have been monitored for their (trace) element content. At present the database contains results of own analyses of about 170 coals, originating from 14 different countries. An important uncertainty was the question of how homogeneous the imported lots are. It appears that the lots as imported from overseas are fairly homogeneous.The behaviour and fate of trace elements in coal-fired power stations has been studied in more than 40 mass balance studies since 1977. More than 50 test series have been completed during co-combustion of biomass and waste materials (up to 40% on mass base) since 1993. It has therefore been possible to establish a relationship between (trace) elements in the fuel and the ash, as well as with emissions into the atmosphere.     

A modified Raupach's model applicable for shear-stress partitioning on surfaces covered with dense and flat-shaped gravel roughness elements

A commonly used measure to prevent soil wind erosion is to cover the surface with gravel. Gravel can inhibit soil erosion by covering the surface directly, changing the airflow field near the surface and sharing the shear stress of wind. Similar to other roughness elements, the protective effect of gravel on soil is usually expressed in terms of the ratio of the shear stress on the exposed soil surface to the total shear stress on the rough surface due to wind, i.e. through a shear-stress partitioning model. However, the existing shear-stress partitioning models, represented by Raupach's model (RM93), are only applicable when the lateral coverage of the roughness elements, λ < 0.10, and the applicability of the models to flat-shaped roughness elements is unclear. The purpose of this study is to verify the applicability of RM93 for dense and flat-shaped gravel roughness elements by using shear-stress data from wind-tunnel measurements pertaining to roughness elements with different densities (0.013 ≤ λ ≤ 0.318) and flat shapes (height-to-width ratios in the range 0.20 ≤ H/W ≤ 0.63), and to modify RM93 to enhance its predictive ability. The results indicate that RM93 cannot accurately predict the shear-stress partitioning for surfaces covered by densely distributed and flat-shaped gravel roughness elements. This phenomenon occurs because, when roughness elements are distributed densely or are flat-shaped, the proportion of the shear stress on the top surface of the roughness elements (τ_c) to the total shear stress (τ) is large; in this case, τ_c plays a dominant role and serves as an essential component in the shear-stress partitioning model. Consequently, RM93 is modified by incorporating τ_c into the calculation of τ. Under conditions of λ < 0.32 and H/W > 0.2, the modified RM93 can yield satisfactory predictions regarding the shear-stress partitioning.     

某海底沉管隧道风塔及下部结构抗震性能分析

为研究某海底隧道风塔及下部结构体系在塑性阶段的损伤破坏形态及特点,探讨在多重荷载作用下弹塑性静动力响应对结构的影响,建立了沉管隧道风塔及下部结构的大型三维有限元模型。采用基于能量原理的混凝土塑性及损伤本构模型,借助大型有限元软件ANSYS及ABAQUS分别对结构进行不同地震条件下的动力时程分析,对比分析振型、层间位移角及较为完整的塑性损伤破坏系数曲线。结果表明:不同设防地震下,结构整体性良好,振型及层间位移角满足规范要求;不同罕遇地震下,该结构的混凝土塑性拉压损伤最大时刻均发生在20 s,主要破坏区域在风塔与人防井及下部立柱的接触位置,且拉伸破坏系数明显高于压缩破坏。本文的研究成果可以为类似近海沉管隧道工程抗震设计提供一定的依据与指导。     

基于微服务架构的地震站网全流程一体化监控平台设计与实现

地震站网全流程一体化监控平台是基于微服务框架,应用数据库、通信、并行计算等传统信息技术,结合新兴的云计算、大数据进行建设的信息服务平台。该平台采用Hadoop分布式处理方案,应用Spring Cloud框架搭建,进行Docker容器封装,以标准RESTful API作为服务接口的微服务架构,实现了各应用服务模块之间的高内聚、低耦合及灵活、可扩展的特性,最终实现对地震台站运行的实时监测、高效运维和一体化管理。     

基于地震数据专家的子午链台站地磁自动化产品系统设计与实现

基于对子午链台站地震地磁前兆异常以及地球空间环境变化等研究方向的需求分析,利用网络、大数据、云计算等新技术,结合地震数据专家（DatistEQ）软件,设计子午链台站地磁指数报告自动产出系统。该系统通过低代码、敏捷式开发工作流程,连接不同功能节点,可以实现用户定制化、数据标准化、功能智能化的系统报告产出。通过本地或者云端一键流程化工作,将不同类型的数据发送到科研工作者或其他需求者,简化工作流程,优化数据处理,实现高效率产品产出。     

云南高山峡谷区大型水电站建设开发性移民研究--以漫湾、大朝山电站为例

根据漫湾、大朝山电站移民安置的经验和教训,在云南省高山峡谷区建大型水电站,开发性移民主要应做到：移民安置必须和国民经济与社会发展结合起来,应尽量外迁农业安置：补偿和开发扶持相结合;正确选择移民安置区;合理确定移民的土地,给移民提供生产基地;统一规划建设适用坚固的住房和生产生活配套设施;为移民发展生产提供技术支持;引导和帮助移民进行生态环境保护和建设;建立统一有效的移民管理体制,实现依法移民。